EiG 2008 is over and done and the Clarion Gaming publishing department is en route to St. Charles. From way up high in the sky, here are some thoughts on the event as a whole as well as a few observations from Day 3. . .

A play-by-play account of EiG 2008, day 2.

Some thoughts on yesterday's operators CEO panel.

EiG is officially underway. This year's attendance exceeds 1,500 - the most ever at this seven-year-old event.

A couple of interesting items to report first on the home front: I mentioned yesterday that the European I-gaming lot is keenly interested in U.S. legal developments, so it's somewhat apropos that the hot topic on day 1 is the seizure of 140 I-gaming domain names in Kentucky. My colleagues in St. Charles are covering this one diligently, but I'll sprinkle in some bits here and there on what's being said in Barcelona about the matter. The gist of what I'm hearing is that this is seen as a protectionist measure in the home state of Churchill downs, which happens to do some business on the Internet. A few people I've talked to seem to think that the whole thing was inspired by First Technology's successful acquisition of Bodog's domain names a few months back. I also learned the iMEGA is gearing up for a battle in to go to battle on this issue.  I'll post an article on this shortly.

The Hilton Diagonal Mar is now headquarters for Barcelona's English-speaking expats. The lobby is mobbed with Canadians and Britons, many of whom seem relatively subdued - the Canadians I suppose because they are jetlagged, the Britons I suppose because they are British - but  a healthy portion have stepped off their planes and into their hippest attire and have already whipped themselves into a networking frenzy.

That's right, it's time again for the European iGaming Congress & Expo, which gets underway tomorrow afternoon, and if the buzz in the cavernous Hilton lobby carries through the week, it's going to be a lively event.

David Kushner, author and journalist, talks about trends in online game playing that will easily and inevitably translate into online gambling. Mr. Kushner will expand on the topic in his presentation at the European iGaming Congress & Expo on Sept. 25 at 10 a.m.

AudioEiG 2008

For those who are fans of Real Time with Bill Maher on Comedy Central (and if you're not, you should be), you'll know that irreverent looks at politics are his main fare.  And if you watch the show, you know that one of his contributors is Matt Taibbi, an irreverent writer with credentials such as Rolling Stone Magazine.  Taibbi typically takes no prisoners and he took a shot at the i-gaming industry this week. 

In a piece on the Democratic Convention, he began at the "free speech" zone which looked like a ghost town.  Then, he moved on to the rash of lobbyist sponsored parties which were going on all over town.  At that point, he heard that there was a poker tournament going on (organized by the Poker Players Alliance) and he tried to get in.  Although you never can be sure about the brutal editing he does, a rather ineffectual tournament gatekeeper was featured with a true "deer in the headlights" look.  When he was refused entrance to the poker tournament for not being on the list, he proceeded to blast the internet gambling lobby (which had legislation pending in Congress) as he would any other big lobby. 

So does that mean that i-gaming has "arrived" if they draw the ire of liberal pundits who go after lobbying interest for "big business"?  Perhaps.  We won't really be able to say that until we're successful getting a proactive piece of legislation passed.

In the mean time, we'll keep an eye out for when this Real Time piece is posted to the internet and make it available.